80-54: Swept away in New York

So, so disappointing. The Red Sox were swept in three consecutive games by the Yankees in the Bronx, as Curt Schilling (8-6) and Boston fell to Chien-Ming Wang (16-6) and the Bombers, 5-0.

Schilling actually pitched pretty well, despite being hit kind of hard in the middle innings. The only two runs he gave up over seven were two solo home runs by Robinson Cano. But Wang no-hit the Sox into the seventh and left without a challenge until the seventh.

I’d rather not get into today’s game; the wounds are still too fresh. But some more strange baserunning calls squashed a possible Red Sox rally in the top of the 7th. I believe the umps got it right, but the way things unfolded left many fans feeling cheated out of a Boston rally. That coupled with “Shirtgate” really cast a lot of doubt and mistrust over this series.

But all of that is beside the point, really. Manny Ramirez ailing or not, this lineup was a colossal failure in this series, scoring only six runs in total. Did anyone else notice that Derek Jeter outhit the whole Red Sox lineup today? Actually, he had twice as many hits by himself as Boston. His defense was atrocious, and nearly cost them the game, but he got it done. Boston hit nothing but pop ups and ground balls all series, and showed little reason why they should be the divisional champs this year.

The Yankees starters are good, but they’re not this good. Being no-hit for six and seven innings in consecutive games? Come on! Don’t just talk about having the best record, guys. You have to show why you deserve that record! Bottom line: the Yankees wanted it, and you didn’t. This was a do or die series for them, and they performed. Now the lead is cut to five games, and New York looks to be securing its playoff berth as the AL wildcard. Thank God you guys swept the White Sox, or we could be in some trouble!

Look, I’m not worried about the division, but someone better light a fire under this team, and soon. I don’t want to be watching this kind of baseball in October.